Tuesday 5 October 2021

The Pennine Way: Men on a Mission (with a gear list thrown in)


Having bought Tom Stephenson’s guide to the Pennine Way as a teenager I finally set off to backpack it 45 years later in 2019. Well it is important to mull over such ideas. Despite it being so long in the planning I failed miserably. That tale of woe and pathetic-ness was told here.

In 2020 I decided to have another try. Covid and lockdowns got in the way. A further date was planned for June 2021 and put in the diary. Mad ‘n’ Bad Andy Walker offered to walk with me for a few days of the trip which, I knew, would help considerably. I am certain that walking with someone else on longer trips is beneficial for me. Having company stops too much introspection and improves my confidence and determination no end.

Andy’s brain must then have got the better of him and, in an effort not to hurt my feelings by simply making up an excuse not to come, he drove around the lanes of Cambridgeshire for days on end until he eventually found an elderly couple who would assist him. They shunted his car into a ditch at very high speed. A serious shoulder injury meant he could not carry a pack. With some trepidation I realised it would need to be another solo attempt.

I sought information on decent places to wildcamp from ‘Johnboy’ Sanderson. John started backpacking aged about 14 months when his mum pushed him out of the back door wearing a lovely green fleecy romper suit and with a carrier bag full of sandwiches, telling him not to come back until he had walked the 105 mile Cleveland Way. 


Johnboy on his first backpack: The Cleveland Way
(Photo credit @itfeels like film)
                     

After that he walked the Pennine Way four times, once when he was 17, bunking off school to walk from Land’s End to John of Groats, with the Pennine Way as part of his route. Since then he has backpacked and mountaineered all over the world, from Patagonia to some mountains between China and Tajikistan, which I could swear he told me were called the Pam Ayres but which I now find out are called the Pamirs. I believe on an expedition there he tried squatting in a snow hole (ie living in it without consent, not performing his ablutions) dug by a Russian climbing team. Having been kicked out of that when the Russians returned unexpectedly he had to appropriate a tent higher up the mountain from which a recently deceased climber's body had just been removed. Well as he’s climbed to over 7000 metres above seal level I guess Cross Fell is relatively straight forward.

Johnboy today. Well not today. But very recently.
                            

He gave my asked for advice then tentatively said  “I might tag along for a few days. If that’s ok”.  After about three-quarters of a nano-second I bit his hand off. Metaphorically, obviously. I’m not some sort of cannon ball, am I? A few days later he said “I wouldn’t mind doing the whole thing again, actually. Slightly slower this time. Take it all in”. He has previously backpacked the 268 miles in 9 days. “Would that be ok?” I bit his other hand off. I then did the decent thing and suggested that I might slow him down ‘a tad’ and that for him it might be rather frustrating to walk at my pace and perhaps he should reconsider. I actually had my fingers crossed behind my back when I suggested this as I didn’t mean it. Being either a good egg or very silly (of course it's possible to be both) he insisted that he was happy to walk at my pace. He didn’t even murmur when I said that I would be hard-pressed to even think of planning doing it in 17 days, let alone succeeding in achieving this. 14 days is thought of as a fast pace and 21 days is regarded as leisurely but I am in my mid-60s and would be carrying all my backpacking gear, not using a company to ferry my stuff from B and B to B and B as many seem to do these days.

A plan was hatched. Detailed with daily mileages, wild camp spots etc. As much as possible it avoided the guide book suggestions of the usual places for the starts and ends of each day, and which the majority of walkers adopt. We both expected the plan would not survive engagement with reality. Then came a throw-away line from Johnboy. “And of course the original route of the Way, the one I took in the 1980s, was very different out of Edale and off Black Hill...Lots of advantages to these earlier routes...Loads of work done to re-vegetate them...Not had that much rain recently...Those bogs will be nothing like they used to be…”

I set about my preparations. Lots of training walks were intended. Before these even began I developed a hurty foot. Physio made no difference. Then an agonising bad back (again) that lasted four weeks. Still, who needs training walks? Everyone who goes on YouTube knows that the secret to a successful backpack is not training. It’s producing a gear list and buying lots of shiny new stuff. I indulged with a vengeance. I honed my gear list down to the minimum weight possible. Then I gradually started to add all the 'just in case items'. Well you know how it is.

For those who, like me, are sad enough to be interested in these things, I now include the list of every single thing I took. Yes, I know. The base weight is heavy. After the event I reckoned that I could have cut about 660 grams of stuff that I never used. And there were several other things used but not necessary  There were also items not used but which I would carry whatever eg many of the first aid and safety items. Even then the base weight would still have been far more than many would carry.

To be continued....

PENNINE WAY SEPTEMBER 2021

 

 

Pack

Non-Pack

Category weight

Post walk Comments

Item

gr

gr

 

 

 

Pack

1280

 

 

Atom Pack Mo + 4 mini carabiners

1105

Brilliant

Nylofume Liner Bags *2

50

Never used before and I was worried about robustness. No need. 1 too many

Pack Cover

125

Not really needed

Atom Pack Roo (Bum/Waist Bag)

100

Brilliant

 

 

Shelter

1096

 

 

MLD DCF Duomid

525

 

MLD Solomid XL Mesh Inner

305

Should have taken my heavier but solid cheapo Chinese inner instead

Polycro

24

 

Peg Bag

11

 

Pegs etc

225

8 Gold Eastons, 2 Ti hooks, 1 MSR Blizzard, 4 Groundhogs. I do not believe the much lower weight of pegs others claim to take!

Half J cloth

6

 

 

 

Sleeping

1632

 

 

Thermarest X Therm (Regular)

451

 

Sleeping Bag Z Packs 20 degree

660

 

Exped UL Pillow

60

Brand new . Deflated every night. Since replaced by seller

Sleep Socks - Merino

45

Not needed

Compression leggings

205

 

Rohan Silver T

89

 

P Bottle

62

No Ed., I will not pee in the vestibule or go out at night :-)

Z Packs DCF Dry bag

30

 

Treadlite DCF Packing Cell

30

Also used to hold my tranklements

 

 

Cooking

431

 

 

MSR Pocket Rocket, canister feet, windshield, lighter

156

Lighter not needed

Fire steel

29

 

Evernew 0.9 litre titanium pot

115

 

Evernew 0.4 litre titanium mug

50

 

Sea to Summit long alloy spoon

11

 

Classic Swiss Army Knife

23

 

Mini tin opener

5

Not needed

J Cloth - half

6

 

Z Packs DCF stuff sac

8

 

Pot Cosy

28

 

 

 

Hydration

252

All used, with long water carries on several days

 

Katadyn Befree 1 litre

63

 

Katadyn Befree  0.6 litre

60

 

Cnoc 2 litre bladder

85

 

Smart Water bottle 0.6 litre

30

 

Purification tablets

5

 

Oookworks red stuff sac

9

 

 

 

Clothes, Worn

2499

 

 

Inov8 Roclite 400 Pro GTX boots

950

Almost new. Superbly comfortable but leaked. Inov8 have replaced.

Trekmate short Goretex gaiters

70

 

Darn Tough Socks

110

 

Bridgedale Coolmax liner socks

36

 

Rab Torque Trousers

375

 

Under Armour Boxers

72

 

Rohan Silver Core long sleeve shirt

255

 

Rohan Latitude Zipneck Fleece

430

 

Rab Windshirt

130

 

Outdoor Research Cap

51

 

Handkerchief

20

 

 

 

Clothes Carried

 

2011

 

Rohan Boxers

90

 

X Socks *1

62

Not used

Bridgedale Coolmax liner socks *2

72

1 pair not used

PHD Down pullover

235

Supplemented sleeping bag in the early hours

Rohan Silver Core long sleeved shirt

255

 

Montane Razor Shorts

131

Very comfortable but ridiculous. Eric Morecambe would have been proud to own these

Buff

38

 

Montane Prism Gloves

67

 

Tuff Bag overmitts

41

Not worn

Hi Tec Zuuc Camp Shoes

380

 

Montane  Beanie

55

 

Rohan Momentum Jacket

285

 

Berghaus Paclite Overtrousers

250

 

Sea to Summit blue dry bag

28

 

Z Packs Medium DCF dry bag

22

 

 

 

First Aid Kit

227

227

 

 

DCF Pouch

 

Tick remover

Not used

Safety Pins

Not used

Sudacreme

 

Plasters and compeed

Compeed not used

Micropore tape

Not used

Paracetamol

Not used

Ibuprofen

 

Imodium

 

Hay fever tablets

 

Travel sick pills

For bus/taxi journey home

Gaviscon and prescription meds

Used and more purchased

Leukotape

Not used

Lanacane Anti-Chafing Gel

Not used

 

 

Repair Kit

80

80

 

 

DCF Pouch

 

Thermarest puncture kit

 

Velcro strap *1

 

DCF tape

 

Bungee cord

Used

Cord

 

Duck Tape (on walking poles)

Used

 

 

Personal Care

730

 

 

Osprey Dry bag

20

 

Zip lock bag

5

 

Toothbrush and paste

50

 

Dental Floss

4

 

Comb

7

 

Dr Bronner's

68

Far too much

Deodorant

28

 

Anti-bac wipes, 12

63

 

Towel - Lightload Mini *4

68

Only two used

Contact lenses*8

16

 

T Roll

40

 

Hand Sanitiser Gel

52

 

Lighter

25

 

Trowel, Deuce of Spades

17

 

Ear plugs

4

Not used

Tissues

20

 

Glasses case

55

 

Face mask

15

 

Smidge Head Net

25

Not used but should have been 

Smidge 18ml

35

 

Sun screen

40

 

Lipsalve and sunblock

13

 

Thermacare backpain heat pad

60

Not used

 

 

Navigation

716

 

 

Cicerone guide

237

Hardly used and never needed

Cicerone map book 1:25k

150

 

Silva compass

40

 

Galaxy S10 Smartphone / GPS in case

215

 

Zip Loc bags *2 for Cicerones

12

 

Ortlieb Map Case

62

Not used

 

 

Electronics

427

 

 

Anker double charger

85

 

Anker 10,000 power pack plus leads*2

206

 

Anker 4,000 power pack

136

Not needed

 

 

Accessories

358

 

 

Spot Messenger

150

 

Whistle

15

Not used

Headtorch, Petzl Tikka

83

 

Thermarest Z Sitmat

60

 

Watch Suunto Core

64

 

Black Diamond Trail Pro Poles

530

 

Camera - Lumix DMC TZ60 + case and spare battery

390

 

Clothes pegs *2

12

 

Sea to Summit yellow dry bag (waste bag)

38

 

 

Admin

127

 

 

C and C Club Card

6

 

Senior Rail Card

6

 

Notebook and pen

45

 

DCF Wallet, credit cards, cash, emergency contact

45

 

House keys

25

 

 

Food, Drink and Fuel

5041

 

 

Gas (230 gr cartridge)

380

Used  approx. 450gr of gas (net) over the 17 days

Water

1600

Minimum, and I was often still  dehydrated due to empty streams  

Z Packs DCF food bag

51

 

Food (average 3 days)

3000

 

Plastic food bags

10

 

 

 

Total Base

9367

 

Total Carried: base + fuel, food and water

14408

 

 

 

8 comments:

  1. Looking forward to the next instalment. The comment that "Those bogs will be nothing like they used to be…" sounds promising ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The comment that "Those bogs will be nothing like they used to be…" sounds promising ;-)

      And in that one, seemingly innocuous, statement Phil, you demonstrate that you have a sadistic streak wider than the English Channel :-)

      Delete
    2. Sadistic?

      Surely it's more an innocent case of impending schadenfreude?

      🤔

      Delete
    3. Well I read sadism in every word of that comment! Perhaps I have misjudged his character. Then again...

      Delete
  2. Good to see you back, a most entertaining read again.

    I've heard the saying that you should get back on the horse that threw you, so it sounds like a big gamble but with a big payoff if successful.

    We paid our dues years ago with regard to backpacking in crap conditions, it's just a few days max these days in cherry-picked weather!.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have misunderstood, Geoff. We were on foot, not horseback.:-) Although John did have trouble with an amorous horse when we crossed his field later on the walk. As for your strategy of avoiding bad weather? Very wise.

      Delete
  3. Wonderful. I love gear lists. Oh yes I like that quote 7000m above Seal level. Where was the theodolite mounted?🤔🤦‍♂️

    ReplyDelete
  4. Splendid, splendid very good - an excellently interesting and entertaining read, now onto the next part :-)

    ReplyDelete